Late Night Pity
by XxNervousGirlxX
Summary: The team stays the night at the cave after a mission, so why is Wally upset and is here anything Artemis can do to help? R&R please !


**OK. I got some comments i was not too happy about, but after looking over what i had posted, i had realized i had posted the wrong version. the other one is still the same there are just some revisions i had made when i realized the text didn't quite work right. so here it is. Sorry about that**

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><p>It was nearly one in the morning when the team got back from their mission. They were all tired, barely able to stay awake as they exited the bio ship that now sat parked in the mount Justice hanger. They got stuck having to go on a mission at eight earlier that night because Poison Ivy, Captain Cold and Black Manta had gone on a rampage in Northern Italy. Of course eight in the night in Happy Harbor was five in the morning Italy time. They managed to defeat them after Kid Flash knocked both him, Robin and Kaldur into the canal because he wasn't paying attention. It was lucky for him that Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis had the three under control.<p>

Now they were back in the cave, wiped out, ready to collapse in front of Batman.

"Because of the late night mission, the league and I think it will be better if you were to stay the night in the cave. There are extra rooms down the hall of the western side of the cave. Now go and get some rest. Tomorrow we will talk about the mission. Good night." Batman left out the zeta tubes without saying another word, the computer voice echoing in the silence. The rest of the team departed for their rooms, except for Wally. He sat on the couch in the den, his elbows resting on his thighs, his hands holding his head. Artemis had stopped and turned around to see this.

"Wally, are you okay?" She asked. She didn't know if it was because she was tired, but she had never seen him like this and it made her worried. Usually Wally was cheery and he would have started calling her names that she never really appreciated, but he was upset and something was troubling him. She felt like she needed to help him. After all he had helped her before and she owed it to him.

"No, I'm not." He replied. Artemis walked over to him, taking a seat next to him. She gave a sigh and placed a hand on his back and tried to comfort him. Her bare fingers brushed against his skin through the tears in the fabric. The mission was pretty brutal. Everyone had come home with scratches and torn costumes, some of them worse than others.

"Want to tell me what's wrong?" She asked, brushing his hair from his face.

"No, I don't." he said trying to shake her hand off of him.

"When you are ready then go ahead and talk. I'll be right here with my ears open." They sat in the quiet. Artemis listened to the seconds tick away on the clock. Down the hall where the extra rooms were she could hear the sound of Robin's snoring.

"I almost got the team killed today." He said his voice muffled.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Her voice trembled at what he had said.

"I wasn't paying attention and that gave the villains the upper hand. Poison Ivy knocked me, Robin and Kaldur into the canal. That left just you, Superboy and Megan to fight those three. I know you guys had everything under control, but what if they somehow turned the tables. We were stuck in the water for twenty minutes, because the current was pulling us. You three could have been killed and Robin and Kaldur could have drowned." He said, letting a tear slide down his cheek.

"Wally, Kaldur has gills he can't drown." She said. Wally scratched his head, He knew that but he had so much else going on he forgot. He felt so stupid.

"Besides," She began, "those three would never have been able to turn the tables. I mean we are talking about a plant, a walking freezer and a fish with very little water. You can't blame yourself for one little mistake." She said. Wally had lifted his head and looked at Artemis. Her hair was frazzled from the mission and her costume was badly torn from all the thorny vines Ivy had sent out.

"It wasn't just one little mistake. Every mission we go one, I always slip up somehow. What if one day I really slip up? I would not be able to take it if I got you or the others killed." He said letting another tear fall.

"Wally, look at me." He looked into the green/grey eyes that were Artemis. He could tell that she was worried about him. In truth He was really worried about her.

"That is never going to happen. I will always have you to protect me and you know I can take care of myself." She reassured him. Artemis wiped away the tear that fell from his eye. Artemis had never really noticed, but from this distance Wally looked kind of handsome. His skin was a peachy color; red freckles made his cheeks look rosy. His red hair was what she liked the most.

Wally had never seen Artemis in this light before. Her skin was a flawless creamy color, her grey/green eyes standing out. Though it was frazzled, her blonde hair looked like fine silk. His eyes wondered around but they always went back to her lips.

"Wally, can I ask you something?" Artemis had to know. She had to know the truth.

"Anything Beautiful." He said smiling.

"Do you hate me? I mean we always fight and I never really hated you. I was just frustrated at first that you called me a replacement but I got over that. I didn't think you did so—"Artemis was cut off by Wally kissing her. His lips brushed over Artemis'. For a moment, she was confused but she melted into it letting Wally take over. Wally placed his hands on her waist and she placed hers on his neck, pulling in closer.

"I think I understand." Artemis smiled. Wally gave a yawn and leaned back, resting his head on the arm of the couch. He looked over to see that Artemis was falling asleep on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and whispered in her ear.

"Thank you Artemis. Good night." He reached up and hit the switch on the wall above him. He fell asleep with a smile on his face. The night started out bad, but somehow it turned into a really great night.

It was early the next morning when Robin and Kaldur had awakened. They ventured into the kitchen only to see Wally asleep on the couch with Artemis wrapped in his arms. Both of them smiled. Kaldur finally satisfied that they were finally going to get along and Robin knowing that he was going to get some great blackmail off this.

Robin looked over to Kaldur and spoke. "You owe me twenty bucks."


End file.
